When the car came to a stop, Catherine's eyes remained closed as she drew a breath.
"Are you sure you will be okay handling this?" She could hear Rome's voice loud in her head.
"Ma'am," Willaim said, looking back at her. "We have arrived at DreamTeam."
Slowly, Catherine raised her lashes and then gave a faint smile before saying, "Thank you,"
Swaying her gaze away from him, she stared at the car door as it opened. Then she stepped down wearing a long black coat and a loose black blouse tugging into her black pants.
With her gaze on the front door, she headed inside, and the lobby grew silent instantly. Only the sound of her red bottom heels could get heard in the room as she marched for the elevator with her bodyguards.
"Oh my God! She's back. Mrs. Ford is back!" A worker from the management department whispered to her colleagues.
"I hear that the company got sold by the bank because Charles couldn't pay his debt to them. Do you think her husband bought back DreamTeam for her?" One of her colleagues asked while gazing at Catherine's back.
"With the money that he has, I believe that's the case, or else why is she here?"
"Isn't her three uncles and cousin already in the conference room?"
After the elevator door shut, Catherine hardened her face as she intensely stared at the steel door, realizing how close she was to losing everything that meant so much to her.
Finally, the elevator came to a stop, and Catherine stepped into the hallway, walking directly to the wooden door ahead of her.
The conference room was quiet as Elijah, William, Anthony, and Charles sat without uttering a word to each other, expecting Rome to walk through the door at any time.
But then the door suddenly opened, and Catherine stepped inside with her head held high and an emotionless expression on her face.
Then She stared at each of her uncles and scowled at the look of shock on their faces as they gazed wide-eyed at her.
Finally getting over his shock, Elijah stood to his feet and shouted, "My dear niece!"
"Drop the act, uncle. I didn't come here to waste my time playing pretend with you all!" Catherine coldly said when Elijah attempted to approach her with his arms open.
Embarrassed, he stood still as he watched Catherine walk to the head of the table. Then she pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Hahaha, our guess was right! We knew Rome wouldn't let something important to you get ruined!" William said with a stiff smile. "You have a good husband, niece."
"Right! He's a keeper for sure!" Anthony uttered.
Narrowing her eyes, Catherine grimaced at them and said, "Are see you all left your sense of shame out the door!"
The room grew silent immediately, and all three of her uncle's faces went blank at the same time.
"Doesn't any of you have some sense of remorse for the mess you have brought about to this company and our family!" Catherine said as she eyed them coldly.
Clearing his throat aggressively, Anthony looked her in the eyes and said, "Of course, we do. It is so unfortunate that we were used by Charles to rebel against Rome and you, and tricked into participating in this disaster he created."
"What the hell!" Charles harshly mumbled, throwing his uncle a dirty look.
Not paying mind to his nephew's stare, Anthony continued, "We should have known better not to trust Charles…"
"So was Charles the one who tricked you and uncle Elijah to take fifty million of DreamTeam funds and robbed it from the company accounts, transferring the money into your personal account?" Catherine cut him off.
"What the actual hell!" Charles lashed out. "Why I was working my ass off to fund the company, you two douchebags were stealing it!"
In a fit of rage, Charles rushed from his seat, launched towards Anthony, collared him, and yanked him out of his seat, landing him on the floor.
"You two selfish criminals!" Charles shouted in his uncle's face with his vein bulging on his forehead.
"Get off me!" Anthony yelled, struggling to break loose from his uncle's grip.
But Charles vigorously knocked him in the face, giving him a nasty black eye.
"Get off your uncle!" William screamed, rushing from his seat.
"You two are only going to be taken in for further investigation. If the court finds you both guilty, it's not my fault. It's your guys' crime for stealing what didn't belong to you." Catherine said, her eyes cold and distant.
Fear ceased Elijah and Anthony as they watched the officers approach them. Then they restrained themselves from struggling as the officers snapped handcuffs on their wrists.
"You two have the right to remain silent, anything you say will and can be used against you guys in the court of law." An officer announced, holding Elijah by his arm.
"When we get to the station, you have the right to call your lawyers." His partner declared as he held Anthony's hand.
In a fit of rage, Elijah lashed out, "How are we supposed to get a lawyer when we are penniless and our accounts are frozen!"
Then he swayed his gaze on Catherine, and she didn't break eye contact with him as the officers led them out of the conference room. Finally, it grew silent when the door shut behind them.
Eyes cold as steel, Catherine looked at Charles and William, and said, "You two are to leave DreamTeam and never set foot back here."
"Catherine, have mercy. I have nothing left to my name because of the bank. If you do this, you are dooming me to become a beggar!" Charles cried out when their eyes locked.
"You don't get it, do you, cousin?!" Catherine said with a steady, hostile gaze. "I wasn't kidding when I said that I am not going to look back when I walked away. Now, I'm done with this family."
"If your grandfather heard what you have done to us, Barlows, breaking it apart like this and dragging the family down to nothing, don't you think his condition is going to worsen?" William said.
Frowning, Catherine looked her uncle dead in his eyes and said, "I hear from my father that Charles was the reason grandpa had a relapse and suffered another heart attack. So, don't you think you should be guilting your son and not me!"
A look of disbelief crossed William's face and his brows popped upward.
"Are you two going to leave, or do you guys need the assistance of the security?" Catherine asked.
A look of hesitation ceased the faces of the father and son. Then the both of them walked out of the conference room with their head hung low.
After the door got shut, Catherine sluggishly sat on the chair and sighed. Then she picked up her phone and dialed Rome's number.
Seeing his screen light blink, Rome picked up his phone. At that moment, his office door suddenly opened and Scar walked inside the room. Then when their eyes lock, he gazed at Rome a half-smile, and slightly waved the file in his hand.
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